Knitted fabric and method



Nwzs, 1939. R,-H.LAwsON fr 2,181,515

. KNITTED FABRIO AND METHOD 4 Original Filed May 2l, 1937 `4 'Sheets-Sheet 1 Ffa. 1.l

/PamHZAI/Vfay Nov. 28,' 1939. R. H. LAWSON ET AL. 2181515 KNITTED FABRIC AND METHODl y Original Filed May 2l, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Flc. .5'.A

Nov. 28, 1939. R H. LAwsoN Er AL 2,181,515

KNITTEDl FABRIC AND METHOD' Original Filed May 21, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I NOV. 28, l1939. A `R H, LAWSON AL l 2,181,515

KNITTED FABRIC AND METHOD Original Filed May 2l-, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 A n Zmventons': JPMERTHZA Wmv.

`Patented Nov. 28, 1939 A KNITTED FABRIC AND METHOD Robert H. Lawson and Wilfred Armitage, Pawtucket, R. I., assignors to Hemphill Company,

Central Falls, R. I'., a corporation of Massachusetts Original application May 144,007. Divided and this application' 21, 1937, Serial No.

Sep-

tember 7, 1938, Serial No. 228,808

6 Claims.

This case concerns a new suture for knitted fabrics and the method of knitting the same.

The suture is more or less interconnected with a particular method of knitting as results from use of a needle and jack such as forms the subject matter of copending application Serial #695,154, now Patent No. 2,127,178. This application is a division of United States application Serial #144,007, filed May 21, 1937, now Patent No. l 2,158,189.

In the figures of the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a section of knitted fabric comprising two parts joined by a suture knitted in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail showing theneedle and jack used for the knitting of the fabric of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the cam arrangement on a machine adapted to knit the fabric of Fig. 1, said view illustrating the knit- ,i ting during straight-a-way or rotary work andduring double feed knitting;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing knitting heel or toe; I

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the knitting g5 in the heel or toe and illustrating the narrowing movement;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of Fig. 5 showing the widening movements;

Figs. 7 and 8 are views diagrammatically showin the ing the knitting in split-work to produce theA fabric of Fig. l, Fig. 7 showing knitting ina clockwise direction'and Fig. 8 inthe reverse or counterclockwise direction.

In copending application Ser. No. 695,154 a needle and a jack have been shown and claimed over which the needle and jack shown in Fig. 2 herein are an improvement, although the principles applying are very much the same. This case is primarily directed vto the knitting of split 40 work with such a needle and jack and incidentally, to the knitting of a better suture which results from the particular mode of operation with the needle and jack as hereinafter described.

The suture itself is characterized by a pleasing appearance, unusual strength and .lack of openings or eyelets such as very frequently 'detract from the appearance and strength, or at least from the apparent strength, of such knitted fabrics. senta raised appearance on the fabric and is not The suture is flat, that is, does not preeasily discovered except wherein the two halves of the fabric are of different material thus making it possible to iind the dividing line without 4the eye being drawn to the seam itself. The suture does not present any open appearance such as is characterized by the usual eyelets, the needles, knitting on each stroke of knitting and not merely wrapping the yarn about the shank as is sometimes done. No auxiliary mechanism is necessary to avoid the formation of an eyelet at 5 'the change from rotary knitting to split work.

For `purposes of describing the suture itself and the manner of making it, it has been thought best to illustrate the operation of the machine as is most satisfactorily done by means of dil0 -agrammatic views showing the knitting throughout the various phases. Referring tol Fig. 2, a needle I which is preferably of the usual latch type, this invention applying to independent needle machines, has a butt 2 at its lower end. Some 15 of these butts are to be short butts as shown in full lines, while other needles will have long butts 3 as illustrated by the dotted lines, Fig. 2. The long butt needles will occupy a position about substantially one half the circumference 20 of the machine while the short butt needles will ll the remainder of that circumference. The long butt needles will correspond to the so-called instep side as is the usual practice and the short butt needles will be associated with the heel and 25 toe andthe sole of the stocking. Of course, any convenient number of these long and short butt needles may be arranged about the machine depending upon the size of heel and/or toe to be knitted, and upon other considerations such as 30 will be evident t'o those skilled in the art. Each needle has a jack 4 intimately associated therewith, each of these jacks having a butt 5 by means of which movements may be imparted to the jack and to both jack and needle as will be 35 explained more fully. The butts 2 and 3 as the case may be are cut out as shown at 6 to receive the lower end l of the jack and each needle is notched as at 8 to receive a correspondingly beveled projection 9 on the jack, this projection and notch serving to impart movement to the needle in accordance with the movementsimparted to the jack in the event the jack is maintained in cooperating relationship with the needle as illustratedin this Fig. 2 but allowing the jack to be 45 moved without moving the needle as is done at many phases throughout the knitting cycle and: as will be explained in full as this description progresses. A projection I0 at the upper end of the jack bears against the shank of `theneedle 50 and serves to maintain needles inwardlxmin their slots under inuence of the usual springs (not shown). The angle of the beveled projection 9 and cooperating notch I0 is such that under nor- `mal circumstances, that is, while the instrumen- 55 within their slots.

talities are frictioned within their slots in the usual way, movements of either the jack or needle will impart corresponding movements to the other instrumentality, however, the angle allows an easy disengagement of the jack from the needle when desired. To prevent accidental disengagement, certain cams are so formed about the machine as positively to hold the jack inwardly against the needle so that the two can not be disengaged at undesired times. The notch d and projection 9 are so constructed that there is a clearance on the lower beveled side. The bearing between the cooperating parts of the jack and needle is actually limited to the contact be.

tween the parts 6 and l and the upper beveled edge of the projection 9 as it engages the notch When the jack is raised or disengaged from working connection with the needle, the part I@ will push inwardly on the shank of the needle and will convey to the needle the pressure exerted by the usual retaining springs.

W'hile the copending application Ser. No. 695,- 154 mentioned above, clearly describes certain types of knitting in detail, the split-foot machine and method of knitting on the same has sufficient complications to make the entire method rather difficult to retain in mind, and it is deemed advisable to describe rather brieiiy the method of knitting in straight rotary work and in the heel and toe before entering into a description of the knitting in split Work. All this will serve more satisfactorily to disclose the entire subject matter of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 3, the cams which are employed in the machine have been illustrated diagrammatically and the pathway of needle butts and jack butts have been shown as the needles and jacks pass through these cams While knitting rotary work, such as in a welt, ring top, leg, ring toe, etc. It is a novel and useful characteristic of this split foot machine that it is very easily adapted to double feed knitting during rotary work. Fig. 3 shows knitting in the straight-a-way at both the main and auxiliary feeds although it is to be understood that the parts of the stocking knitted in this manner may be knitted at either one of the feeds from a single yarn. It is probably more desirable to knit some of the rotary portions lof the stocking at the main feed and other portions at the auxiliary feed, for instance, the leg and instep will generally be knitted from the same yarn, and for this reason, the leg may be knitted at the auxiliary side so that the instep can be knitted from the very same yarn. Of course, if double feed knitting is employed, the leg will be knitted from two yarns alternating in courses while the instep will be knitted from one of the yarns. The diagrammatic views herein shown represent the cams which are placed about the cylinder of the machine as they would be seen from the outside so that Fig. 3 shows knitting in a counter-clockwise direction, the usual practice.

'I'he machine is to have a so-called main or regular cam set and an auxiliary cam set, these sets being identified by the letters X and Y. The main cam set X includes knitting lcams II and I2, a guard cam I3 and a center raise cam I4. An auxiliary guard cam I5 having a downwardly inclined Wing at either end is used in conjunction with the center guard cam I3, these Wingsy serving to align the butts 5 of raised jacks in the event of improper action such as might result from jacks being too loosely frictioned It is a characteristic of the area51-t particular mode of knitting herein practiced that the knitting cams II and I2 at the main feed function upon jack butts 5 to control needles while at the auxiliary feed Y, the knitting cams function upon the needle butts 2 and 3v to control the needles directly. Thus it may be seen that at the main feed jacks 4 must be held inwardly against the shanks of their needles to prevent accidental disengagement of the jack from its needle. The lower end of the jack will be retained in place as the end 'I ts within notch 3; the upper end of the jack will be held inwardly in a normal operating position by means of an elongated retaining element I6.

At the auxiliary feed Y the arrangement of cams is much less conventional when compared to the auxiliary cam of the usual split foot machine than are the cams at the main feed. Knitting cams Il and I8 function upon butts 2 and 3 of needles to cause those needles to rise to a yarn taking position and thereafter to be drawn down to knit. A center cam I9 functions upon jack butts only to bring jacks down to a position wherein they meet needles raised by one or the other of stitch cams to engage the same and thereafter to lower needles slightly so as to be projected into a pathway of the second stitch cam and to be drawn downwardly. In this respect the center cam I9 has the usual function of a center cam differing only in that its effort is imparted to a jack and thence from the jack to the needle. A center raise cam 20 functions in the usual manner.

Two additional cams 2| and 22 prevent excessive upward movement of the needles and the i ends 2| and 22 of these cams serve to hold the jacks at such times as the corresponding stitch cam II or I8 moves the needles downwardly to draw stitches and at the same time to become disengaged from the jacks. After disengagement these cams 2I.or 22 will raise the jacks slightly to be guided within an intermediate pathway prior to contact with other cams.

The cams 23, 24 and 25 are raisecams which .perform more or less the usual function of such cams and incidentally maintain the needles in such a position between knitting stations that the latches of the same will be held open by means of the last drawn stitches or as disclosed in copending application Serial No. 695,154.

Before reaching the auxiliary cam set Y needles and jacks pass through a. series of cams 26, 2l, 23 and 29. Jacks are separated from needles at this position, and although the separation may not be necessary there may be more or less of idle movements during -some phases of knitting which are essential to the entire construction and method lof operation. The cam 26 serves to hold needles downwardly while cam 28 raises jacks to effect a separation. Cam 23 merely prevents any overthrow of the jacks and serves to align them forproper contact with center cam i9. Cam 2l is essential to some phases of straight-a-way knitting, and is essential during clockwise movements in split work. Cam 2l is always in position while cam 28 is constructed and arranged for being projected into a position to engage butts 5 or to be withdrawn to an inactive position. Such a movement may be taken from any satisfactory 'drum or similar control on the machine.

Another group of cams is positioned in front of the main cam set X and comprises stationary cams 30, 3| and 32 and movable cams 33 and 34. Cam 30 functions upon jacks in both rotary and reciprocatory work in certain instances while cam 3| merely serves the purpose of holding needles down' while jacks are separated from them. In this respect it is similar to cam 26. Cam 32 prevents jacks from being raised to an unintended level just as cam 29 does. Cam 33 is movable by means of connection toa suitable pattern drum or the like and moves in toward the needle cylinder until its lower end abuts against cam -25. In this position it will engage long needle butts but will not contact the short butts. Short butts will beraised upon cam 25 in two steps as shown, Fig. 3, but.

the long butt needles will be raised up on cam 33 providing it is in position and will thereby elevat'e jacks so that their butts may engage the lowest point of cam 30. Then under the action of cams 30 and 3|, the jack will be separated from the needle. If cam 33 is not in position, needles and jacks will pass through a path such as shown in Fig. 4, that is, unless the jacks have passed through the auxiliary block as in Fig. 3, both needles and jacks will remain connected since the jacks will not contact cam 30. Instep cam 33 is moved into position to engage long butt needles prior to knitting the heel or toe and for .the purpose of separating the jacks from the long butt or instep needles. At that time cam 34'Will not be in position to engage any jack butts and those butts will pass over the top of cams 21, 30 and I5 and under cam I9; however, they will not have any effect upon their companion needles uponwhich stitches will still be retained during the knitting of theheel and toe" and it is in this manner that the instep needles are retained inactive at a low` level-by means of separating the jacks therefrom..rather than raising the needles themselves, a practice which has certain disadvantages, especially if it is contemplated to knit a wrap pattern in which event it has been necessary to raise the entire wrapping mechanism during the knitting of reciprocatory work in the heel and/or toe. A further advantage in the type of machine herein illustrated is that a latch Yring in the usual form' is unnecessary, although a mouthpiece is provided at each feeding station which is of a suiiicient extent to control needle latches when they have been freed as their stitches are cleared. This isl a decided advantage in ,transferring and also allows wrapping mechanism to be employed especially in a split foot machine wherein, due to the additional mechanism, there has been little room for a wrapping head of any conventional type.

Cam 34 is used during double feed knitting such as illustrated in Fig. 3 and is likewise under theeontrol of suitablepattern connections to be brought in against .the cylinder and to be retracted at predetermined times. This cam 34 is necessary to engage jacks with their needles after they have been disengaged upon going through the auxiliary block Y during double feed knitting, or at the termination of knitting in a heel or toe when it is desired to resume circular Work or split foot work, as the case may be.'

Now referring to Fig. 3 wherein double feed knitting is shown, pathway 35 represents the path of needle butts as they pass about the machine while pathway 36 represents that of the jack butts. The movable cams 28, I1, I8 and 34 are to be maintained in position. The needle butts pass over cam 23 and. under cam 26 and since it is vdesired to knit at station Y,

jected down under cams I1 and I8 andwould neither take yarn nor knit at that station. The needle butts strike cam I1 and are raised to a latch clearing and yarn taking position under the point 2| of cam 2|. At this position jacks are lowered by cam I9 until they are engaged with their respective needles whereupon the needles are slightly lowered so that they will strike cam I8 to be drawn downward thereby and to knit, however, after lowering the needles, the jacks are immediately separated from them by means of the point 22 of the cam 22. Thereafter the needles are guided along by means of the raise cams 24 and 25, cam 33 being out at this particular time, although it would not do any harm in double feed knitting if it were not.

The jacks must strike cam 30 as shown and will be raised up that cam and immediately brought down by cam 34. This is an idle movement to some extent, but is not easily avoided when knitting at both feeds. As needles rise to the highest point on cam 25 they will be engaged by the jacks which are lowered by cam 34. Thereafter jacks ride up cam to draw needles up to a clearing and yarn taking position whereupon cam I3 will push the jack and incidentally the needle downwardly and then knitting cam I2 will cause the needles to knit completing the cycle in rotary, double feed work.

It is of course quite possible to knit in rotary work at either feed to the exclusion of knitting.

at all, times ,and would pass under cams 21, 2|, f

22, over cams 25, and 3|, jack butts being guided ibetween cams 30 and 3| and then knitting at the main feed just as shown in Fig. 3 or 4.

If it should be desired to knit at the auxiliary feed Y only, the cams 28, I1 and I8 would be moved to active position and knitting would take place at the auxiliary feed as shown in Fig. 3. However,.it would be necessary to withdraw cam 34 so thatfafter the jack butts contacted and were raised by cam 30 they would pass over the top of the main cam block. For this reason it would not be necessary to have cam 28 in position as the jacks would strike cam 21 in raised position anyway. After knitting under cam |8, the needles would pass up cam 35, under cams and I2 not being disturbed in any appreciable way at the main feed.

Now referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 we will describe very brieiiy the knitting of the heel and toe. The heel .and toe are to be knit on short butt needles, the `jacks or long butt needles beingraised by cam 30 when cam 3 3 has been `projected inwardly. Cams I1 and I8 will be retracted and cam ,33 will be withdrawn after it has served in the elevating of jacks which belongv to long butt or instep needles. Cams 28 and 34 will also be retracted at this time. As before stated, the heel or toe may be knitted on any desired number of needles depending upon the original set up of the machine, and narrowing and widening will be carried onfto shape the pocket, this narrowing and widening being performed by periodically separating jacks from short butt needles and thereafter returning them to be engaged therewith. The jacks and short butt needles pass alternately to and fro through cams |I, I2, I3 and I4 to knit in the usual way,

the pathway in a counter-clockwise direction f' being illustrated at 31 for the jacks and 38 for the needles, Figs. 4 and 5. 'I'he pathway of the jacks which have been elevated is shown at 39, these including the jacks which work with long butt needles and also such jacks as have been raised away from sho-rt butt needles during the narrowing. The long butt needles pass through under cams II and I2 in pathway 40 and at other points about the machine follow in the pathway 38 with short butt needles. In Fig. 5 the narrowing picks are shown at 4I and 42, pick 42 being about to elevate a jack and separate it from its needle. The needle will be held downwardly by cam I2 so that this separation will be positively effected.

In Fig. 6 we have illustrated the action of one of the widening picks 43, two of these picks being used, one at either side of the auxiliary feed Y as is the usual practice. In this particular example shown in Fig. 6 the jacks passing along in pathway 39 in a counter-clockwise direction have been lowered by cam I9 and two of the jacks will be engaged at a time by pick 43 to be returned into the pathway 31 for knitting in reciprocatory work. The narrowing picks and the widening picks are to be controlled in the usual way so that they function as and when desired; at other times they will be held out of action and will not engage any jack butts. .When a jack has been returned to the pathway 31 it will be engaged with its needle and then that needle will function as a short butt needle in the knitting of the heel and/or toe and will widen the pocket .which is being knitted. Fig. 6 shows other pathways and also shows cams I1 and I8 in position; the reason for this will be evident later, the gure being used in this particular part of the description merely to show how a widening pick causes needles to resume knitting in the heel and toe and Figs. 4 and 5 are suicient to illustrate the rest of heel and toe knitting.

. The widening picks are controlled from a pick controlling drum or the like, the control of this drum being variable upon the picks so that widening picks may be thrown into action every other course, every second course, etc. In the particular example being shown the lugs on the drum are so arranged that these picks will be in for one course and out for two. Of course, the\nar rowing picks are operating continuously throughout the knitting of the suture. In the heel and toe narrowing picks function during the usual part of the knitting and when narrowing is cornplete, the widening picks are moved into operative position and-remain there throughout the widening. ,Y

At any desired time the circular knitting may be discontinued and split foot knitting may be started. In the split foot knitting the instep is knitted at the auxiliary feed Y and the high splice and sole are knitted at the main side X. All knitting cams will be in position and as shownA in Figs. 7 and 8, after the jacks which correspond to long butt needles have been lowered by cam 34, in the event the machine is knitting double feed, Athat cam as well as cam 28 will be withdrawn from action. Cam 33 will probably be withdrawn although there is no particular harm if it would remain in position.

At the start of split work it is first necessary to raise the jacks on long butt needles so that on the last rotation of the cylinder in the leg prior to entering the high splice, the short butt needles only will knit at the main feed X. The high splice may be knitted from the same yarn as knitted the leg, but of course, this would not be the usual practice and providing the leg was being knitted at the main side froma single yarn or was being knitted in combination with the knitting of another yarn at the auxiliary feed, it would be desired to change to a heavier or a dilferentyarn in some respects at this particular time. The change may occur at any convenient place on this last rotation, or may occur at the start of the rst stroke in a clockwise direction. The cam 33 being projected inwardly will raise the long butt needles, and jacks corresponding thereto will be raised up cam 30 to an upper pathway 39. In this pathway these jacks will have no function at the main feed, but will be raised up cams 30 and 21 as they reciprocate to and fro and will serve to cause needles to knit at the auxiliary side only. The long butt needles move through a pathway 45, merely passing under the stitch cams I I and I2 at the main feed, but actually being controlled to knit through cams I1 and I 8 during reciprocatory strokes of knitting.

If two yarns were feeding throughout the leg, one at each station as in double feed work, the yarn at the auxiliary side will merely continue to feed throughout the instep at this same auxiliary side being knitted on the long butt needles. However, in a simple form of the invention the leg yarn would have been knitted at the main side and would be changed as above described to a high-splice or double sole yarn, and the instep yarn would be brought in at the auxiliary side at the rst clockwise movement of the cylinder. Cams I1 and I 8 might be retracted if the leg was being knitted at the main side only and in that event those cams would have to be pushed inwardly prior to passage of the long butt needles through them on this iirst clockwise stroke. It is quite possible to startthe knitting of this instep yarn on the rst long butt needle to pass through the cams but it is preferable that one or two of the short butt needles be raised in advance of the long butts to take this instep yarn in addition to the high splice yarn which they already have taken at the main side. This will provide a suitable overlap of the yarns to prevent the formation of an eyelet. These needles may be raised by means of jacks or by any of the usual methods and would be raised somewhere between cams 3| and 22. After the introduction of the yarns and movement of the various cams in the positions which they are to occupy during the knitting of split work, the

suture is knitted by control of two needles at either side of the fabric, these needles being manipulated from one group to the other, that is, from the short to the long butt series and back, by means of the narrowing and widening picks. This will produce a suture such as illustrated in Fig. 1, the knitting of the suture duplicating cer- 'tain steps throughout each four courses of the fabric.

In Fig. 7, in the clockwise stroke, the long butt needles are shown knitting at the auxiliary side under cam I1 and thereafter passing around in the pathway 45 to pass through the main cam block without knitting. In Fig. 8 on the counter-clockwise stroke these needles are knitted under cam I8 and in the reverse direction. The short butt needles are knitted under cam II on the clockwise stroke and are separated from their jacks upon passing through the auxiliary block, these short butt needles moving in a pathway 46. In the reverse direction they move through the same pathway but knit under cam I2. What has been said with respect to knitting in the straight-a-way andin the heel and toe applies in this split foot knitting so far as the manipulation of the needles and the jacks themselves is concerned. A y

The short butt jacks are periodically picked from that group of needles to the group of jacks which control long butt needles and back. On the rst clockwise movevof the cylinder the narrowing' picks are brought into action and pick 42 will lengage the leading short butt needle jack and raise it in pathway 44 to the. group moving in pathway 39. This means that the corresponding needle ac ts as a long butt needle and will knit on the auxiliary side. The widening picks have not been brought, into action at this time.

During the next counterclockwise movement the leading short butt needle at the opposite side will be picked up by the narrowing pick 4 I. Then this short butt needle will knit in the long butt group at the auxiliary side so that at this stage, we have a short buttv needle at either end of the group knitting at the auxiliary side with the long butts.

On the second clockwise stroke, that is, the third stroke in the split foot part, the jack of the second short butt needle is picked up by Y pick 42 so that there are two short butt needles at this side which are to knit with the long butt group. Of course, the first short butt needleat the opposite side is still knitting with the ylong butts and on this stroke will be the last needle to knit in the long butt group. e

On the next counter-clockwise stroke, the fourth stroke in the split foot partthe second short butt needle is likewise caused to join the long butt group as its jack is picked up by pick 4l; at this time we have two short butt needles at either end of the series knitting with the long butt needles at the auxiliary side. On this counter-clockwise stroke the widening pick 43, Fig. 6, will engage two jack butts at the head of the group of jacks which are passing in pathway 39 and will lower them to the pathway 31 where they will join the rest of the jacks which are identied with short butt needles. This means that those short butt. needlesV which knitted on this counterclockwise stroke at feed Y will immediately knit again with short butt needles as they pass through feed X. The effect of this will be pointed out in the fabric when that is described to tie the same in ywith the description of opeation' l On the next stroke, the needles move in a clockwise direction and the rst short butt needle jack, one which was just picked down by pick 43, will be raised by the pick 42 and its needle will immediately start knitting in the long butt group. On this same stroke the opposite widening pick (not shown) will bring down the two jacks at the opposite'side of the group to join their short butt needles. These needles will likewise knit at both the auxiliary and main feeds on the same stroke.

Onthe next counterclockwise stroke the rst short butt needle jack will again be picked up by pick 4l and from this point on, lthe knitting will merely be repeated picking up the second short butt needle packs at either side until we have two short butt'needles knitting with the long butt group at either side of the fabric, arid then bringing them down with the vildling picksv and repeating again. This results in repeats every four courses.

It makes no difference what yarns are used or whether the leg yarn knits at the feed X or Y, or whether double feed knitting was in operation except at the start of knitting the split part of the fabric. Once the suture is started these repeats at every four courses will continue until rotary work is resumed. We have described one method of knitting and one way of going from rotary work to split work; that is deemed sufiicient for the purpose of this case to teach the knitting of the suture and the manipulation and arrangement of cams and picks for controlling the needles and jacks in a manner which is entirely distinct from anything we know of being practiced heretofore.

We will now describe the fabric itself as illustrated in Fig. 1. This figure shows a conventional representation of portions of the fabric at either side includingthe sutures and also shows the change from rotary work to split work. Courses 41 and 48 will be the last courses knitted in the rotary work, the course 48 ending at loop 49 knitted onthe last short butt vneedle passing through the cams in a counterclockwise direction. In accordance with the preceding description, it was during this last counterclockwise revolution of the machine that the long butt needles were caused to pass through beneath the cams at the main side of the machine as their jacks were raised to an inactive level. The loop 49 knitted on a short butt needle determines the start of knitting split work, and from this point on, the instep will be shown as knitted from a yarn which is not cross-hatched while the' high splice or sole portion 'is represented as knitted from a yarn which is cross-hatched for purposes of distinction. The fabric is shown greatly enlarged and includes only a few wales at either side of the knitted suture.

The sutures are formed by special manipulation of the two needles knitting at either end of the shortbutt group, and the wales knitted by these needles are designated at 50, 5l and 52, 53. At the first clockwise stroke, course A is knitted, the short butt needles knitting the cross-hatched yarn at the main side of the machine while the long butt needles knit the plain yarn at the auxiliary side. The plain yarn is herein shown as i la simple form of the invention, since in actual practice jacks or the like would be used to bring up about two or three of the short butt needles at that side so as to form a suitable lap of the yarns, although there is no noticeable eyelet formed by the method shown. The loop 49, the last loop drawn on the termination of rotary work, or rather the needle drawing that loop, has the yarn wrapped about the shank at the start of knitting the clockwise stroke and then the short butt needles knit their part of course A, but the needle knitting wale 50 is picked up by the narrowing pick at the start of knitting this course so that the loop 55 just above loop 49 in wale 50 is knitted, not at the main side, but at the auxiliary side and from the yarn feeding at that sideof the machine. It is to be noticed that at this particular part of course A the course is stepped up so that at the right hand side of Fig. 1, course A appears to be in a plane somewhat higher than the plane of the rest of the course.. A similar distortion prevails throughout f the entire fabric, but is not apparent in the finished article as it is in the conventional representation wherein loops are shown greatly enlarged. Y

On the next course in the opposite or counterclockwise direction, course B, the needle knitting in wale 50 still knits at the auxiliary side and in addition, the end short butt needle at the opposite side which knits in Wale 52 and had just knitted loop 56 does not knit again at the main side in course B, but is picked up to knit with the long butts at the auxiliary side and knits loop 51 at that side of the machine. At this point we have wales 50 and 52 being knitted by the end short butt needles as though they were long butts at the auxiliary side.

The next course C is knitted in a clockwise direction and the needles knitting invwales 52 and 50 still knit in the long butt group at the auxiliary side. 'I'he second from the end short butt needle will have its jack picked up on this stroke so that the loop 58 is knitted of the instep yarn and at the auxiliary side. This loop 58 is knitted in wale 5i, thus two needles at that side of the machine are caused to knit at the auxiliary side, their jacks having been picked up and passing in the pathway 39, Fig. 7. It can be seen from an inspection of Fig. 1, that due to distortion, the part of the course C which is knitted at the main side or at the sole or highsplice has gained or is stepped up above the part of the course which is knitted at the instep.

Now referring to course D knitted in a counter` clockwise direction, the needles knitting wales 50 and 5| knit again at the end of the long butt group. The second short butt needle at the opposite side, that is, the needle knitting in wale 53 is picked up and knits at the auxiliary side from the instep yarn along with the needle knitting in wale 52. These two needles knit loops 59 and 6I! in wales 53 and 52 respectively. The needles knitting the wales 5U and 5|, as was explained with respect to the second counterclockwise stroke of reciprocation, knit at both sides of the machine on this particular reciprocation. They knit the loops 6I and G2 from the instep yarn at the auxiliary side, then encounter a widening pick, or rather, the jacks encounter the widening pick, so that those needles are returned to eiective knitting at the main side. This occurs between the auxiliary and the main side and at such a time as to cause those needles to knit again drawing loops B3 and 64. At this time the needles knitting wales 5G and 5l are returned to the position they occupied at the start of the cycle.

In course E drawn in a clockwise direction the needles knitting in wales 53 and 52 will likewise draw loops 65 and S6 at the auxiliary side and from the instep yarn, then will have their jacks picked down and will knit over again on the same stroke drawing loops 61 and 68 at the main side of the machine. On this stroke the needle knitting wale 50 will again encounter the narrowing pick and will be returned to the long butt side so that it will draw its loop 69 at the auxiliary side. From an inspection it can be seen that course E corresponds to course A, in other words, the cycle started with course A and a similar cycle starts with course E. 'I'he only distinction is that the instep yarn was introduced in course A while there will be no yarn change throughout the remainder of the split work in the usual instance. By following through the fabric it can be seen that the remainder of the parent to those skilled in the art, and

courses shown will merely duplicate courses B, C and D and it is not considered essential to explain more than one cycle.

No change of yarn at the high-splice or sole side has been shown in this illustration, although it is contemplated to knit from a diierent yarn at that side, but not absolutely necessary. The change would involve no more than a simple yarn change and has not been illustrated for purposes of clearness and to avoid the showing of any more than is absolutely essential to illustrate what is new in the case.

The suture which has been illustrated herein is confined to two wales and continues along the same two wales, however, variations may be apare contemplated by the inventors, which variations include sutures produced in a single wale or in more than two wales. Also the suture may be produced in any of its forms but is not necessarily conned to the same wales throughout the length of the fabric. As in the knitting of a tapered high-splice or a cradle-sole, the suture may progressacross the wales to form a diagonal line, this being controlled by the drum control for the widening picks, for example the suture may be knitted by narrowing for three courses in succession and then bringing the widening picks into action for one course thereby gaining a wale every time the cycle is repeated. Other schemes will be apparent and are obviously included within the invention.

The invention has been described in more or less specific terms and with illustration of one particular form of the same, however, changes may be made which would be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as originally conceived. The invention is dened in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A method of knitting a suture in knitted split work including the interlocking of knitted stitches from two distinct and separate yarns, said interlocked stitches being knitted in two wales, each of the wales including a loop of a single yarn for two consecutive courses, then loops of one of the yarns for the next course and on the next course knitting one yarn in both wales and thereafter knitting the other yarn in both wales of tle same course whereby five loops are included in each wale in each Vrepeated cycle of four courses.

2. A knitted suture including loops of two separate and distinct yarns, one only of said yarns being knitted in a Wale for two consecutive courses, then one of the yarns being knitted in all of the wales of the suture for the next course, that yarn being knitted on the following course and in addition thereto the other yarn, whereby ve knitted stitches are included, in each wale of the suture throughout each consecutively knitted four courses of the fabric.

3. A knitted suture comprising repeats at each four courses throughout the fabric and extending over two wales, said two wales being knitted in the rst course and including loops drawn from separate yarns, the second course being a repeat of the rst, the third course having both loops in the two suture wales knitted from one of the said yarns only, the fourth course having both loops knitted from the same yarn as the third and in addition thereto, two more loops knitted from the other yarn.

4. A knitted suture comprising loops knitted throughout two wales. some of the courses having loops of different yarns adjoining, others of the courses having loops of the same yarn, and still others having loops knitted in both wales from one yarn and other loops drawn through these from the second yarn.

5. A knitted suture including linterlocked stitches in two wales, each of the wales having loops of a singlecyarn for each of two consecutive courses; then loops of one of the yarns for each of the next two courses and in the next course one yarn in both wales so that ilve loops are included in each Wale in each lrepeated, cycle of four courses. y

6. A knitted suture including int'erlocked loops I from two separate yarns knitted in two adjacent wales, each of the yarns having loops in both wales, there i'lrst being two loops of one yarn in one Wale and two loops of the other yarn in thev adjacent wale, then loops of one of the yarns extending over both wales for two courses and then one loop of the other yarn in each Wale, this comprising a cycle in which ve loops appear lin each Wale over four courses.

ROBERT H. LAWSON. WILFRED ARMITAGE. 

